What Do You Need to Do to Plant a Pomegranate?

Location

• Hot, arid sites are best for raising pomegranates. The plants prefer hot summers followed by cool winters where temperatures do not fall below 12 degrees. Lower temperatures can damage the plants. They generally grow well in USDA hardiness zones 8 through 10. The California Rare Fruit Growers website notes that pomegranates will grow as far north as southern Utah or Washington, D.C., but rarely fruit in these locations. They are intolerant of humid conditions.

Sun and Soil

• Select a site with full sun. While pomegranates tolerate partial shade, it reduces flowering and fruit formation. The plants are adapted to many types of soil, but need a well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. According to the California Rare Fruit Growers website, pomegranates thrive on calcareous soils, acidic loam and rock-strewn gravel.

Fertilizer

• Provide ammonium sulfate or nitrogen fertilizer for the first two years either in the spring, or divide the annual dose into several applications. The Texas A&M University Aggie Horticulture website suggests using 1 to 2 cups the first year, doubling the amount in the second year and tripling it in the third. More fertilizer may be needed if you hope to produce fruit from your trees; the Clemson Cooperative Extension suggests fertilizing trees grown for fruit in March and July, using 1 pound of 10-10-10 for every 3 feet of plant height.

Care

• Pomegranates are low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants. Irrigation provides the steady water supply they need to reduce fruit drop and splitting, but over-fertilizing and excess watering also lead to fruit drop, which is a particular problem with younger trees. Mulch your plants annually. Prune to remove suckers or to shape the tree during its early growth. Pomegranates self-pollinate, so you don’t need a second tree to obtain fruits.

Propagation

• You can propagate pomegranates from seed, but seed will not produce a plant that is true to type. Hardwood and softwood cuttings may be the better option. Take 8- to 20-inch-long pencil-diameter cuttings during the winter. Remove these from 1-year-old wood. Treat the cut ends with rooting hormone, and plant them at a depth equal to 2/3 of their length.

Transplants

• For nursery-grown plants, select a cultivar suited to conditions within your region. Water-in the plants, then water them every few days for the first two weeks. The Texas A&M University Aggie Horticulture website suggests you remove any grass in a 2-foot circle around the plants, then mound a ring of soil several inches thick and wide around the edge of the cleared space, and fill this reservoir with water to water the plants.